Onome Amuge
The Nigerian stock market continued its downward trajectory into April, building on a 2.0 percent month-on-month contraction in March. In a trading week shortened by holidays, the Nigeria Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) dipped by 0.14 percent, settling at 105,511.89 points. This decline occurred despite the release of strong 2024 audited financial statements and significant dividend payouts, especially within the banking sector.
Cautious sentiment and portfolio adjustments at the start of the new quarter weighed on Nigerian equities, resulting in a N109.98 billion decline in market capitalisation. The 0.17 percent week-on-week fall left the total value of listed stocks at N66.15 trillion.
The NGX announced the regulatory delisting of Capital Oil Plc, Goldlink Insurance Plc, and Medview Airlines Plc during the week due to their failure to meet listing requirements. Despite the recent market volatility, the NGX’s year-to-date return still shows a modest gain of +2.51 percent.
Trading activity on the NGX was markedly muted during the holiday-shortened week. The total number of trades fell by 30.85 percent week-on-week to 42,397 transactions. Consequently, both volume and value traded saw substantial declines, declining by 84.26 percent and 92.76 percent respectively, to 1.18 billion units valued at N28.87 billion.
Reflecting the prevailing negative sentiment, the Nigerian Exchange saw more decliners than advancers, with 51 stocks losing ground compared to just 21 gainers, resulting in a weak market breadth of 0.41x.
Sectoral performance was broadly negative, with the notable exception of the NGX Banking Index, which bucked the trend with a 1.50 percent week-on-week increase. Gains in GTCO, Fidelity Bank, Access Corporation, and Wema Bank fueled this positive performance within the banking sector.
Conversely, the NGX Insurance Index spearheaded sectoral declines, falling by 5.36 percent. The Oil & Gas (-1.20%), Consumer Goods (-0.70%), and Industrial Goods (-0.22%) indices also recorded losses, driven by sell-offs in counters such as SUNUASSURE, Universal Insurance, Oando, Tantalizers, PZ Cussons, Lafarge Africa (WAPCO), and Cutix.
The NGX Commodity Index saw no movement over the week. The top gainers were VFD Group (+20.8%), Union Dicon Salt (+19.60%), African Prudential (+15.7%), NGX Group (+11.9%), and UPDC REIT (+10.9%). On the other side of the spectrum, the biggest losers included UACN (-18.3%), SUNUASSURE (-13.4%), Universal Insurance (-13.3%), Oando (-13.1%), and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (-12.8%).
Looking ahead, Nigerian equities are anticipated to trade with mixed signals in the coming week. Investors are expected to react to further dividend announcements and strategically seek reinvestment opportunities in fundamentally sound stocks. Nevertheless, global market trends and domestic macroeconomic indicators will remain key determinants of investor sentiment and overall market direction.
